Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

"Another year, another Hawk game- I'm not complaining."

First created in 1999, the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series is to extreme sports games as Mario is to platform games. The series set the standard as to how extreme sports game are suppose to be made. While many have tried (and failed miserably), Hawk is and forever will remain king of this exciting genre.

Graphics 8/10

To be honest, I think the graphics in THPS4 aren't as good looking as the ones found in the third game. Characters look blocky and the areas lack overall detail. Once you do all the goals in an area, the level seems so barren and desolate. On a good note, the animation while doing tricks still rocks, and the framerate is top-notch. The creators also included little details like ripped pants and bloody elbows, which I think are cool.

Sound 9/10

This category has always been strong, and this time, it's no exception. Every genre of music associated with skateboarding is included. All-in-all, there are 40 songs in the game's huge soundtrack. Even with the huge soundtrack, you'll eventually be tired with it; so there is also the feature of playing your own soundtrack (the norm for this genre of games on Xbox). Sound effects are also good. Nothing is really new. The only new sound effects are when you bail, your skater will groan and yell in pain.

Gameplay 9/10

Excellent once more. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Every trick from the previous games are back plus some new ones. The old combo linkers (manuals, reverts) are back plus a new one called the spine transfer. Every button on the controller is put to use. ''A'' is to ollie, ''B'' is to do a grab trick, ''Y'' is used to grind, ''X'' is used to do flip tricks, and the ''R'' and ''L'' triggers are used to do reverts and spine transfer. There are two other new aspects. One is skitching. You just go up to a moving vehicle and press ''up'' on the controller pad and you'll grab on to the car. The other one is the powerslide. When you want to turn around quickly, just press ''down'' on the control pad and press the two trigger buttons.

I'm sick of those 2-minute runs!!!

Apparently Neversoft has heard the many cries to take out the 2-minute run system. Now there are no time limits in Career Mode so you can free skate the level (then what's the point of Free Skate?) until you are ready to complete a goal. The only time that time limits show up are during goals.

I'm tired of collecting S-K-A-T-E!!!

Neversoft has again heard the many cries. Although they did not take out the ''collect S-K-A-T-E'' goals (they actually added in another variation), they did put some new fun and hilarious ones in. Some new ones are: street lugging, shopping cart racing, down-hill skateboarding, knocking people into the water, and hit the target. There are also mini-games you can play like tennis and baseball.

Lasting Appeal and Replay Value 9/10

Another category the series has always been good at. The game might seem easy at first, but just wait until you get to the Pro Challenges. Many of those are hard as hell and will test your patience. While the difficulty may turn some off, many will see that this incarnation of Hawk is the best one yet.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/02, Updated 12/08/02